Burbot
Lota lota (Linnaeus, 1758)

member of the Cuskfish Family (Lotidae)

 

McFarland Lake, Cook County, Minnesota 9 October 1984


Name


Habitat


Size/Age

Food

Predators

Reproduction

Conservation

 

 

  

 

What's In a Name?
Burbot, a.k.a. Eelpout: from a French word meaning "mud" or "mire", but might refer to the barbel on the burbot's chin

Lota lota (low´-tah  low´-tah) from the French word for codfish

       

    Where Do They Live?
The burbot is a cold-water species and can be found in most of Minnesota's northern lakes and rivers, including Lake Superior. It is present but not common in prairie sites and parts of the lower Mississippi River. Burbot are not present in waters that typically exceed 21° C (69° F) during the summer. In streams, young burbot seek out shallow waters that have vegetation and debris. As they grow they move to rocky riffles and then on to pools or under banks that are cut from below by the passing water.
       

   

How Big Do They Get?
How Long Do They Live?
Burbot get as large as 800 mm (32 in) in Minnesota, but typically they are less than 700 mm (28 in) and weigh 2.7- 3.6 kg (6- 8 lbs). The Minnesota state record for this fish is a little less than 9-kg (19 lbs 3 oz). It was caught in Lake of the Woods. Since this fish lives a secretive life, it easily reaches the ripe old age of 10-15 years.
       
    What Do They Eat?
This is one of the many voracious predatory fish in Minnesota. They eat mostly other fish. Depending on where they live, these might include sculpins, yellow perch, walleyes, troutperch, or lake trout. They also eat fish eggs, clams, and crayfish. Young burbots eat small crayfish, mayfly larvae, and other aquatic insects.
       
   

What Eats Them?
Young burbots are a common prey for many other fish, such as smallmouth bass, yellow perch, and even smelt. In lakes, small adults are prey for lake trout. During the ice-fishing season, when they are very active, burbot often are caught by anglers fishing for walleyes. Some anglers won't touch a burbot. They cut their lines and discard the fish not realizing that burbot is a tasty relative of the Atlantic cod.
       
   

How Do They Reproduce?
The spawning season for this fish is very unusual. It spawns during mid-winter into early spring, before the ice is off the water. Burbot spawn in pairs or sometimes in a ball of many fish. The spawning site is usually in fairly shallow water (less than 5 m deep) over sand or gravel bottoms. There is no nest built and there is no care for the eggs or the newly hatched young. After releasing the eggs and sperm the fish thrash about scattering the eggs, which later fall to the bottom. A single female can lay as many as 1 million eggs, depending on her size. The embryos develop for 4-5 weeks in the cold water and hatch at the tiny size of 3-3.5 mm (less than 0.15 in)--one of the smallest of freshwater fish larvae.
       
   

Conservation and Management
Burbot do not have special conservation status in Minnesota and are not actively managed. However, they are a big winter hit in Walker, Minnesota. Each year the city hosts the International Eelpout Festival on Leech Lake. More then 2,000 anglers try to bring the biggest burbot up through the ice.

 

 

MORE FISH!

Permission is granted for the non-commercial educational or scientific use of the text and images on this Web document. Please credit the author or authors listed below.

Photographs by Konrad P. Schmidt
Text by Nicole Paulson & Jay T. Hatch in cooperation with
the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' MinnAqua Aquatic Program

This page developed with funds from the
MinnAqua Program (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fisheries)
and the
Sport Fish Restoration Program (Fish and Wildlife Service, US Department of the Interior)

Maintained by Jay T. Hatch
General College and James Ford Bell Museum of Natural History
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis/St. Paul

Last updated 23 October 2002